How long to cook pulled pork in electric roaster

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Table of Contents Show

Pork Shoulder
Preparing Your Pork
Baking Your Pork
Shredding Your Pork
Here’s how you do it.
The method and the RUB!
SO many options!
We’re from Iowa and we love pork!
One more time – you can make this while you SLEEP!
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Can you cook a pork shoulder in an electric roaster?
How long do you cook a pork shoulder in a roaster oven?
How do you keep pulled pork moist in a roaster?
How many minutes per pound do you cook pulled pork?

Pulled pork is one of the glories of the Southern barbecue tradition and in recent years, it's gone from a regional specialty to a mainstream favorite. Preparing it the old-fashioned way, over charcoal, takes a long time and a lot of attention, so it's not ideal when you have kids to keep an eye on. It's much more practical to cook your pork in a roasting pan or countertop roaster and rely on seasonings to provide the flavor.

Pork Shoulder

Commercial barbecue joints often cook and pull whole hogs, but for home cooks the traditional choice is a pork shoulder. The loin is fine for chops, but pulled or shredded pork needs to be made from a cut with lots of marbling and connective tissue. Otherwise, it'll be dry and chewy. The shoulder meets those standards perfectly, so all you have to do is cook it patiently at a low temperature until it becomes fork-tender.

Preparing Your Pork

Most enthusiasts recommend seasoning your roast a day ahead and letting it sit overnight while the flavors infuse into the meat. You can find an endless number of recipes for dry rubs or spicy pastes to coat your pork and you can get a pretty good argument started at any gathering by asking which is better. Whichever you choose, rub it into the pork carefully so the entire surface is covered. Don't trim away any fat until after cooking, because it's going to protect your roast from drying out while it bakes.

Baking Your Pork

The next day, place your pork shoulder in a roasting pan with the rind of fat facing up. Add a small amount of water, broth, apple juice, beer, wine or some other liquid, if you wish. It's optional, but adds flavor. Cover the roast and put it in a preheated oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, or in a countertop roaster set to the same temperature. The pork is safely cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 145 F, but for pulled pork it must reach at least 180 F. That's the temperature that makes the roast's connective tissues dissolve into gelatin, giving it its characteristically lush and soft texture.

Shredding Your Pork

When the roast is fork-tender, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour off the juices into a container and let them stand while you shred the pork. Remove the fat cap and set it aside, then lift out the pork onto a baking sheet or large platter. Use two forks -- or gloved hands, if your fingers are heatproof -- to pull or shred the pork into strips. Remove any large pieces of fat. When you're done, ladle off the fat from your cooking juices and use them to moisten the meat. If you have extra, you can thicken the juices to make a sauce for your pork.

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Slow Baked Pulled Pork is the perfect main course for holiday entertaining or as a game day staple. Only 15 minutes of prep and then 12 hours in the oven. Works like clock-work, and you can even make it while you sleep!

How easy is Slow Baked Pulled Pork?

VERY!! 😀 Which makes this recipe a huge win for busy people during the holidays or on game days (when we’d rather be chatting with company/watching the game than cooking)!

Here’s how you do it.

Make the spice rub – just six ingredients.
Rub the spice rub all over the roast, cover it, and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.
Two hours before baking, set the roast out to get the chill off.
Bake on 210 degrees (yup, 210) for 12 hours. DON’T OPEN THE OVEN during bake time.
Remove roast from oven and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Discard shoulder blade, skin, and visible fat.
Shred the meat, and serve.

Easy enough? I say yes.

The method and the RUB!

I use an old-time roasting pan for baking the roast. If you don’t have one, you could use a dutch oven or even just a deep pan and cover it tightly with foil. The most important thing is to cover it and NOT touch the oven for 12 hours.
This slow roast method is a technique that I found on All Recipes by Chef John.
I also just posted my brother Dave’s spice rub recipe, which is actually the rub I used in this recipe, except for the quantities. Make a large batch of it to keep on hand for other meats, like baby back ribs, brisket, pork loin, etc.

Do you see the shoulder blade on the picture below? It literally just fell away from the meat when I touched it. The meat was so tender that I didn’t need forks to shred it either, except that it was a little bit warm.

Unbelievably simple and delicious.

SO many options!

This pulled pork works great as:

a sandwich
a wrap
a taco
a burrito bowl
quesadillas
enchiladas
the list goes on…

In fact, I sent a container of this to Josh at TTU, along with tortillas, cheese, and homemade (the BEST) enchilada sauce. He was happy. 🙂

We love using homemade French Bread with this pulled pork. See my recipe and video below for all the deets!

We’re from Iowa and we love pork!

Mike and I grew up in Iowa, so we grew up eating a lot of pork. We love it all. Pork chops, pork loin, pork tenderloin, pork ribs, pork patties (yup, it’s a thing!), bacon, ham, hot dogs (just at a ball game), and sausage.

I can see you thinking….”But doesn’t she post a lot of roasted veggie and quinoa recipes? And she loves pork?” YES. I love it all. It’s about balance for me, and there is really nothing that’s off limits. Except raw fish and weird stuff. 🙂

One more time – you can make this while you SLEEP!

I recommend putting it in the oven 13 hours before your event so it is fresh out of the oven. OR, you can bake it in advance and then warm it up in a crockpot (on low). Just add a little extra liquid (chicken broth and/or barbecue sauce) so it doesn’t dry out.

Enjoy. 🙂

Try this recipe next: Slow Cooker Beef Au Jus Sandwiches

Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue

7-8 pound pork shoulder
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 cup water
barbecue sauce

The day before: Make the dry rub by combining the sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, and garlic powder. Mix ingredients and coat liberally over the pork shoulder.
Place pork shoulder in a roasting pan or dutch oven. Let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight, covered.
The next day when ready to bake: Preheat oven to 210 degrees.
Take two ramekins and combine 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke in each one. Place each ramekin on either side of meat and cover with lid.
Roast pork in the oven (covered) for 12 hours, or until very tender. Do not open the oven. After 12 hours, remove and let the roast sit for 20 minutes, or until it is cool enough to touch.
Remove skin and visible fat from roast. Remove the shoulder blade and discard.
Shred meat with your fingers or do a rough chop with a knife. Place shredded meat in a serving dish and drizzle with broth, or barbecue sauce. Serve warm.
Leftover pork freezes well in an airtight container or freezer bag.

If you don’t have a roasting pan, you could use a dutch oven or a simple large throwaway tin (lasagna sized), and cover tightly with foil.
Be generous with the seasoning!
Do NOT open the oven during the 12 hour cooking time.
If planning an event, start the process for about 13 hours prior to event time. This will ensure that the pork is warm.
Cooked pork can be frozen, wrapped tightly, for up to three months.

Can you cook a pork shoulder in an electric roaster?

Place the seared pork into an electric roaster and set at high heat (400℉). Cook for 3-5 hours, depending on how much pork you have, until the meat is tender enough to pull apart with a fork. Remove the pork from the roaster and shred the meat piece by piece.

How long do you cook a pork shoulder in a roaster oven?

Roast about 7 to 8 hours, basting every hour. The roast is done when the internal temperature is 170-175 F.

How do you keep pulled pork moist in a roaster?

Use low heat: As heat tends to absorb some moisture from the meat, it is better to cook the meat at low temperatures. This will allow the meat to cook slowly and will also reduce the rate of moisture loss due to heat.

How many minutes per pound do you cook pulled pork?

Depending upon the size of your pork roasts it will take 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours to cook to the desired temperature for pulled pork. *Average cook time is 40 minutes per pound.